19 



top-heavy and getting " laid " by wind and rain, Teff has also 

 <lone well on the sandy soils characteristic of the coal-measures, 

 a-s, for instance, at Witbank and Ermelo. It thrives on the grey, 

 sandy loams of the Standerton District and the red sandy soils 

 ■of the Pretoria District. 



Mr. W. Gillespie, for many years a very successful grower of 

 Teff, writes as follows (23) : " Teff grows very well on heavy, black 

 soils, such as are common on the High Veld, but it is risky. If 

 •sowing is followed by heavy rains, before brairding has begun, the 

 •chances are that the surface will cake and thus prevent the shoots 

 getting through. The grass is also coarser on heavy soils, and 

 not so keenly relished by stock. It is better, therefore, to sow on 

 lighter soils, sandy for preference; old mealie lands do very well." 



In Abyssinia, according to Ooulbeaux : " Teff prefers, ^^g^tij^ 

 s andy soi ls, and adapts itself to the most sandy ; it then produces 

 ■slender, wiry stems, and supports a large weight of ear." (3.) 



MANURES AND ROTATIONS. 



Teff should not be grown year after year on the same field, 

 unless a good dressing of fertilizer is first applied. The kind of 

 iertilizer to be used will depend on the particular ingredient — 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, lime, et cetera — which is lack 

 ing in that particular soil. Stable or kraal manure is always 

 beneficial. I have found that agricultural lime, at the rate of 500 

 lbs. per acre, had a beneficial effect on the Teff crop, but a heavier 

 dressing (1,000 to 1,500 lbs. per acre), would probably have been 

 still better. Bone meal, basic slag, super-phosphate, guano, nitrate 

 of soda, all would probably prove beneficial. A green-manure crop, 

 such as cow peas, soy beans, velvet beans, etc., ploughed in, would 

 a,lso benefit a succeeding crop. 



Teff is particularly well suited for a rotation, because it is such 

 a good "cleaning crop." Teff, maize, cow-peas, and potatoes 

 suggest a rotation which might be varied to suit local conditions 

 and requirements. Some farmers claim that Teff benefits -the 

 succeeding maize crop, but as it is a somewhat exhaustive crop (24), 

 this does not seem likely. Beneficial effects may, perhaps, follow, 

 owing to the cleanness of the land after a Teff crop. 



PREPARATION OF THE GROUND. 



Teff seed, being very small— between tobacco and lucerne seed 

 in size — is easily buried ; buried seed cannot germinate. There- 

 fore the seed-bed should be level and the tilth very fine — nearly 

 as fine as a tobacco seed-bed, and, if an,ything, finer than well- 

 prepared lucerne land — to give the best results. It should be free 

 from old maize stalks and rubbish,_ such as stalks of Mexican 

 marigold, mest-brede, etc., which spoil the appearance of the hay. 

 Plough the ground well, disc-harrow, and work down well with the 

 zig-zag harrow. When the tilth is fine enough the seed may be 

 sown and worked in with a very light harrow, or anti-clog wejeder ; 

 follow with a Cambridge roller. Some farmers never harrow after 

 sowing (19), but rely on the Cambridge roller to bury the seed. 

 " The use of the roller pays well for the trouble, as the crop stands 

 much closer tha-n if finished off with the harrow only."-^(lF. 

 Gillespie, 23.) Eut the rolling should not be done while the surface 

 soil is wet or it will pack too much ; I have known oases where 

 the crop had to be ploughed up and resown on this account. 



